Reflections on the Season: Hope

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

The past year has been an interesting journey filled with many ups and downs. It is sometimes hard for me to believe that just a year ago, I was about to face one of the most emotionally tumultuous times of my life. But, the Lord is good and His faithfulness will never cease to amaze me. Through all the weeks of pain, He remained constant, and He has brought healing to a heart that felt as if it were lifeless. Praise be to the Lord who breathes life into the dead parts of our souls!
With that amazement and joy, I wanted to share the following passage from Isaiah, which is considered to be a prophetic statement concerning the coming Messiah, and one which I believe is fitting, not just for the season, but for my life and perhaps even for yours.

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law, the islands will put their hope.
This is what God the Lord says – he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
Who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
To open eyes that are blind,
To free captives from prison and to release from darkness those who sit in darkness.””

~ Isaiah 42:1-7 (NIV)

What a joyful thing to know that because of the coming of Christ, the Servant, we have hope – hope for a day when justice will reign, hope that the life-giving breath of God can and will restore our dead hearts, hope that the good news of Jesus Christ will release many people from the chains of sin and darkness! This, my friends, is the hope of Christmas – Jesus Christ, the Son of God and very God Himself, came into our midst, not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. In Him we have life, and life to the full.
As the season comes and goes, let us not cease to remember the great sacrifice our God made on our behalf that we might be reconciled to Him. And may that truth permeate our thoughts and lives throughout the next year.

Merry Christmas, my friends!


Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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